EFF: “Content moderation has become a critical topic across the globe. Unfortunately, it can still be difficult for the average person to understand the processes that go into content moderation, much less how to appeal decisions that those platforms make to censor content or accounts. To help fill this gap, we’re launching a resource for… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2022
FTC: US consumers lost $770 million in social media scams in 2021 up 18x from 2017
“Consumers in 2021 reported losing about $770 million to fraud initiated on social media—about one fourth of all reported fraud losses for the year and an 18-fold increase from 2017, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight. Of those who reported losing money to fraud in 2021, more than 95,000 indicated… Continue Reading
State Of Fintech 2021 Report
CB Insights: “It was a record year for global & US fintech funding, mega-rounds, unicorns, M&A exits, and more. Global fintech deals and dollars reached record highs in 2021. Funding more than doubled year-over-year as private market deal activity soared across sectors and geographies. In our State Of Fintech 2021 Report, we dive into global… Continue Reading
The modern workplace: Will remote tech workers tolerate being monitored?
ZDNet – “The same technologies that enable people to work from home can be used to watch them work. A survey finds widespread use of monitoring software and not everyone is told it is there…For work at home advocates the future looks rosy. With the current jobs boom it looks certain that they’ll get what… Continue Reading
Withers latest to drop ‘Dear Sirs’ in emails
Legal Cheek: “Withers is the latest law firm to drop the use of gendered language such as ‘Dear Sirs’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ in written correspondence, opting for “gender neutral” salutations instead. In an email to UK lawyers last week, Withers said: “When writing to a firm or company the use of ‘Dear Sirs’ or ‘Dear… Continue Reading
Deloitte report finds employees more productive during pandemic
Tech Republic: “Deloitte has released a report detailing the firm’s findings on work productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating there was actually a “spike in productivity” during the lockdown period that occurred in 2020. Whereas employers pre-pandemic found it tough to quantify a worker’s output, the pandemic has ushered in a new era of setting… Continue Reading
What’s in a Name? The Future of Law Firm Library Departments
HBR Consulting: Joanne Kiley | January 21, 2022 – “The American legal profession has had a uniform conception of a law firm’s library department and its role for several generations: great big rooms full of books and periodicals staffed by librarians responsible for making sure the firm had the most important volumes on hand for… Continue Reading
The hidden lesson in the new free Covid-19 tests
Vox – It is possible to create programs that don’t burden the people who need them most: “[Last] week, the Biden administration rolled out a plan to send up to four free Covid-19 tests to every household in America. But you probably already knew that. At times, there were over 700,000 concurrent visitors to the… Continue Reading
Synthetic Voices Want to Take Over Audiobooks
Wired: “…Synthetic voices have become less grating in recent years, in part due to artificial intelligence research by companies such as Google and Amazon, which compete to offer virtual assistants and cloud services with smoother artificial tones. Those advances have also been used to make reality-spoofing “deepfakes.” Speechki is one of several startups developing speech… Continue Reading
ILO launches new online database on trade agreements that include labour provisions
“GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a new global database on trade agreements containing labour provisions, paving the way for a more human-centred approach to trade policy. Aimed at policymakers, technical experts, and representatives of workers, employers and civil society, the Labour Provisions in Trade Agreements Hub (LP Hub) offers… Continue Reading
Personal identifying information for 1.5 billion users was stolen in 2021, but from where?
TechRepublic: “It was a big year for cybercriminals, who made off with somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion worth of users’ personal identifying information (PII) in 2021, according to a report from threat intelligence company Black Kite. Black Kite looked at 81 third-party breaches that accounted for over 200 public disclosures, and its top… Continue Reading
Gas stoves in kitchens pose a risk to public health and the planet, research finds
Washington Post: “Gas-burning stoves in kitchens across America may pose a greater risk to the planet and public health than previously thought, new research suggests. The appliances release far more of the potent planet-warming gas methane than the Environmental Protection Agency estimates, Stanford University scientists found in a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental… Continue Reading
